Sherlock: Time Forgotten
by QueenNaberrie
Summary: It's been 1 year since Sherlock's return from the "dead" and John has been injured. He has been unconscious for several days; and when he wakes up, he can't seem to remember the last 1-1/2 years of his life, meaning he doesn't remember his marriage to Mary, their baby daughter, OR Sherlock's return. This is a one-shot.


_Author's Note: I have had this idea floating around in my head for quite some time now and just felt the need to finally get it written down. This will only be a one shot unless I can think of a way to create a larger story out of it at some point._

_If you are one of my avid Star Wars story readers, my apologies for not updating those stories in so long. My interests have been elsewhere in recent months, but I promised myself that I wouldn't start any more long stories until at least one of those are complete. So don't be surprised if you see one shots (or two shots) like this from time to time until I get my inspiration to write Star Wars fan fiction again. I hope you will take a moment to read these one shots as well, if it is something you think might interest you._

_Disclaimer and Credits: I do not own "Sherlock" nor seek any financial gain from this story. This is purely written for my enjoyment and hopefully the enjoyment of my readers. All the credit for the creation of the original characters for the "Sherlock Holmes" stories goes to the great Sir Arthur Conan Doyle; and all the credit for the modernized, television version, "Sherlock", goes to the fabulous Mark Gatiss, Steven Moffat, and Steve Thompson. "Sherlock" also belongs to BBC in the UK and aired on PBS in the US._

**Sherlock: Time Forgotten**

Mary Watson watched her husband lying, unconscious in his hospital bed with a look of complete anguish on her face. John looked near death. He was pale with an oxygen tube in his nose, an IV with a sugar/water drip for nourishment, and the only sound that could be heard in the room was the constant pulsing beep of his heart monitor.

The doctor had just left the room and the news he just gave her was far from encouraging. John had been unconscious for five days now and the doctor was concerned that there was a possibility that John may never wake up. If that happens, and his condition worsens, then John could spend the rest of his life, however long that may be, lying in a hospital bed like this one hooked to machines. _"This is a nightmare."_ Mary thought to herself as she looked up when she heard the footsteps of someone entering the room. It was Sherlock.

Mary watched Sherlock with equal worry as he stared emotionless at his best friend's still form in the hospital bed. He was dressed in his signature Sherlock attire, sleek designer black suit; black Belstaff coat with the collar turned up; blue scarf tied around his neck in its usual fashion; and a light, blue shirt that could be seen beneath that scarf. The only difference was his otherwise haggard appearance. He hadn't shaved this morning and got very little sleep, if any, she could tell. There was at least a day worth of stubble on his face; he had dark circles under his eyes; and his dark, curly hair had a matted appearance in some places and was sticking straight up in others. Bottom line - Sherlock was a mess.

Mary knew that Sherlock blamed himself for John's current state of health. John had been following Sherlock on another one of their more dangerous cases, pursuing a suspect by running across the rooftops of multiple buildings in central London, when John misjudged a jump over a gap between two buildings and landed several feet below on a fire escape. He had hit his head on the railing before finally landing completely flat on his back. He was lucky to be alive at all and Sherlock knew it.

Sherlock, who had been focused entirely on the case, didn't notice at first that John was no longer following him. Once he did, he had searched frantically for his best friend, thinking the worst, when he finally found John unconscious on the fire escape with a large gash in the side of his head and a broken arm and leg.

"Sherlock, it's not your fault." Mary tried to assure him as Sherlock finally turned his head to the left to gaze down at her and then away as he collected his thoughts. He knew deep down that she was right, but he couldn't help to think that he could have done something to prevent this horrible accident.

"I know, Mary." Sherlock finally said as he brought his attention back to her.

Mary weakly smiled at Sherlock with understanding. "You know…but you miss your blogger." It was a statement, not a question.

Sherlock couldn't help but smile at that. "Yes, I do." He paused as he let out a sigh. "How is he? Has there been any change?"

Mary shook her head as she got a sad, faraway look in her eyes. "No. And the doctor was just here, and he wasn't very encouraging either."

Sherlock just sighed as he ran his right hand through his curly hair and crossed over to the chair on the other side of John's bed. He flopped down in the chair and slouched down in it, resting his head on the back of it. He then turned his head over to look at Mary. "It's my turn to stay with John, Mary. Go get some rest." Sherlock insisted.

Mary eyed Sherlock with gratitude but shook her head. "I can't leave him. What if he wakes up and I'm not here?"

"Mary, I will call you if he wakes up." Sherlock tried to assure her.

Mary shook her head even more adamantly. "No, I can't leave him."

"Very well. Stay then." Sherlock stated as he sat up and steepled his hands under his chin, becoming lost in thought.

It was at that point that Molly Hooper walked in. "Well, you two look positively 'wonderful.'" She stated sarcastically as she inspected both of their disheveled appearances.

"What are you so cheery about?" Sherlock exclaimed as he turned to glare at Molly with his hands still steepled under his chin.

"I'm not." Molly retorted. "You two look awful and need to get some rest in some place other than these chairs. Have you even gone home in the last 24 hours?"

"Yes, I have." Sherlock replied innocently. "I just came from there. But Mary has not. In fact, she has been here the entire time." He informed her.

Mary glared over at Sherlock before glancing up at Molly with determination. "I'm not leaving him."

Molly sighed as she decided it was pointless to argue with either of them. "Mary, I just wanted you to know that I stopped at your flat; and Sherlock's mum and dad have everything under control with little Sherlyn so not to worry."

Sherlock just smirked at the mention of John and Mary's baby girl's name. John swore they weren't going to name their daughter after him that day on the tarmac when they thought they were saying their last goodbyes, but he couldn't help but notice how similar the name Sherlyn was to Sherlock. John always denied it, but Sherlock still liked to tease him about it. He then became serious again. "Mum has always wanted grandchildren. I'm sure she is enjoying it." Sherlock stated as he got a faraway expression on his face.

Molly just gave Sherlock a meaningful look. "Well, there is one way to accomplish that. You could always get married to someone and give her that wish." She told him with a smirk.

Sherlock glanced up at Molly with a start. "Don't be absurd."

Molly let out a disgusted huff. "Never mind. Forget I said anything."

Mary just gawked at Sherlock with a look that said, _"He is so unbelievably blind."_ But then she became thoughtful as she examined Sherlock's appearance again. _"He's so worried about John. Has he even eaten anything in the last few days? He looks so much thinner than usual."_ She said to herself as she noticed that Molly had the same concerned look on her face as she also observed Sherlock.

"Sherlock?" Mary started. "I could really use a fizzy drink. Could you please go get me one? It doesn't matter which kind."

Sherlock regarded Mary for a moment before glancing over at John and then Molly. "Ok. Sure." He said as he abruptly stood and headed for the door. But then he paused as he turned back to look at Molly. "Would you like one?"

Molly smiled as she turned to look at Sherlock. "No, thank you, Sherlock. I'll be leaving soon."

Sherlock just simply nodded and left the room without another word.

"Molly, I'm worried about Sherlock." Mary confided. "I've never seen him this way."

Molly looked down and then up again at Mary. "I have." She paused. "Just before he jumped off the roof here at St. Bart's."

Mary and Molly regarded each other with concern. "You don't think…" Mary began.

"No, he's not going to do anything like that again." Molly assured Mary. "It's not the same situation."

"I hope not." Mary replied as Molly came up next to Mary and put her arm around her shoulders in a comforting manner.

"John, will wake up, Mary." Molly told her, trying to give her some hope.

Mary sighed as tears formed in her eyes. "I truly hope so. John is the best thing that's ever happened to me."

Molly smiled. "Yes, and he's the best thing that has ever happened to Sherlock too." She paused as she became more serious. "I hope he wakes up for both your sakes."

oooOooo

It had been 20 minutes since Sherlock left on his mission to find Mary a fizzy drink and Mary was starting to get concerned. _"It shouldn't take that long to get a fizzy drink. I saw a vending machine at the end of the corridor." _She thought to herself.

Molly had left 10 minutes ago, assuring Mary that Sherlock would never put any of his friends through something like he did 3-1/2 years ago again, especially after he realized how much he had hurt everyone when he led them all to believe he had killed himself. Although his actions were done with honorable intent, it still was a source of angst between the friends from time to time; and, even Sherlock realized that attempting something like that again without telling any of them would only result in the end of their friendship. Sherlock may be a self-declared high-functioning sociopath, or so he claims; but even he understood the gravity of that.

It was while Mary was wondering where Sherlock went off to, when she heard a noise coming from her husband in the form of a groan. "Mary?"

Mary's face lit up as she reached out to take John's hand in hers. "I'm here, John."

John's eyes blinked a few times as his eyes adjusted to the light. "Where am I? What happened?" He asked in confusion as he looked around the hospital room.

"You had a nasty fall, John. You've been unconscious for 5 days." Mary explained to him as he simply stared at her.

"I-It's so nice that you came to see me in the hospital, Mary." He paused as he swallowed, licking his dry lips, before continuing. "We've only known each other for a couple of weeks."

Mary gave John a shocked expression as it dawned on her as to what John had said could mean. "John…" She cautiously began. "We've known each other for 1-1/2 years."

John was astonished by this. "Wh-What?"

"I-I'll get the doctor." Mary told him as she patted his hand and started to stand up.

"Mary, sorry it took so long; but the vending machine down the corridor wasn't working. I had to go all the way down to the canteen to get this for you." Sherlock explained as he started to hand the can of fizzy drink towards Mary. He then noticed John gaping at him in complete shock. "John, you're awake!" He exclaimed as he set the fizzy drink down on the hospital tray table behind Mary.

John's eyes followed Sherlock as he crossed over to the other side of John's bed. "Y-You're dead. I must be hallucinating." John finally said, which caused Sherlock's face to drop.

Sherlock looked over at Mary in confusion. "He seems to have lost some of his memory, Sherlock."

"Obviously." Sherlock replied as both Mary and he noticed that John was looking from one to the other with complete bewilderment.

"You can see him too?" John asked Mary, who was gazing down at her husband with concern.

"Yes, John, Sherlock has been back a year. He faked his death to save you, Mrs. Hudson, and Greg." Mary explained to him as John looked wide-eyed at Mary and then over at Sherlock.

"Is that true?" John asked the consulting detective. "You're really not dead." He stated as a small smile started forming on John's pale features.

Sherlock nodded. "Yes, that is true. Sorry, John, but it was necessary. I had no choice." He told his blogger as he reached out to touch John's hand.

John glanced down to where Sherlock was touching him, feeling his warmth against his skin. "I must be dreaming this." John stated as he gazed up at his best friend again, wondering if he was going to wake up at any moment and Sherlock would disappear again.

"It's not a dream, John." Mary tried to assure him as she looked up at Sherlock. "I'll go get the doctor." She told them as Sherlock nodded and she left to go into the corridor.

It was at this point that Sherlock released John's hand and decided to take off his Belstaff coat, flinging it over the back of the guest chair. He had long since taken his blue scarf off and stuffed it into his coat pocket while he had been in search of Mary's fizzy drink. He sat down in the chair next to John as John continued to stare at him in astonishment.

"How did you do it?" John finally asked Sherlock after a moment of awkward silence. "Why didn't you tell me you were alive?" He asked as agitation started to enter his voice now that the initial shock of seeing Sherlock alive was starting to wear off. "I wanted you not to be dead."

Sherlock glanced down at the floor and then back up at John. He opened and closed his mouth a couple of times as he considered what he should say. "I know. I heard you at the cemetery. I was there." John's eyes went wide as he realized the implications of that. "I wanted to know if you were going to be ok." He added.

"Y-You were there…at the cemetery." John stated as he looked at the consultant detective in disgusted disbelief.

It was at this moment that Mary returned with the doctor. "Well, Dr. Watson, it's good to see you finally awake." The doctor exclaimed.

John didn't immediately take his eyes off of Sherlock, but then turned to look at the doctor. "Yes, I am. But I appear to have forgotten some things." He stated as he then glared over at Sherlock again.

"Yes." The doctor replied as he became more serious. "And that does concern me." He then looked up at Sherlock and then Mary. "Will you please excuse us for a moment while I examine Dr. Watson's other injuries now that he is awake and can answer my questions."

"Of course." Sherlock replied as he got to his feet and then followed Mary out into the corridor. He met Mary's concerned expression as he joined her outside.

"Sherlock, what am I going to do. It's bad enough he's in shock because of you being alive. How is he going to react if he finds out he and I are married and we have a baby daughter?" Mary asked Sherlock with sadness in her voice.

Sherlock smiled down at her as he turned to stand next to her, and they both observed that the door to John's hospital room was now closed. "You just tell him."

"I can't." She sighed. "Sherlock, you are hopeless when it comes to human nature." Mary informed him. "I just can't come right out and tell him something like that. As far as he knows, we've only known each other for a couple of weeks."

"Then why are you asking my opinion?" Sherlock retorted with a smirk on his face.

Mary couldn't help but chuckle. "Yes, why am I asking you?"

"I don't know." Sherlock replied with a smile. "You tell me."

Mary shook her head as she put her left hand around Sherlock's right arm and squeezed his arm affectionately. "Because you're his best friend, and you sometimes know him better than I do."

Sherlock couldn't help it. His heart melted a little more with affection as he heard Mary's words. "Yes, I am and I do." He agreed.

Mary laughed and then became serious again. "Oh, Sherlock. What are we going to do?"

Sherlock looked away with thoughtful contemplation. "We must be patient…and wait for the right time."

Mary glanced up at Sherlock with a start and then smirked. "You got that from a book, didn't you?"

Sherlock didn't answer her and smirked just as the doctor re-emerged from John's hospital room. "You can go back in now." The doctor told them as he approached them. "He does appear to have lost some of his memories; but perhaps in time, they will come back to him. We will have to keep an eye on him to make sure there is no more swelling in his brain; but at this time, he appears to be doing well." He paused as he noticed Mary's and Sherlock's concerned expressions. "Don't lose hope. These things tend to work themselves out in time." He tried to assure them both. "Well, I have other patients to see, but I will be back later to check on him."

"Ok and thank you, Doctor." Mary told him as the doctor nodded and then walked away.

"I'll go find Molly and text Lestrade." Sherlock informed her as Mary started back towards John's room.

"Thank you, Sherlock." Mary stated with gratitude as she turned away from him. "Don't forget Mrs. Hudson and your parents." She added as she reached the door. "And go eat something and shave. You look horrible."

"Of course." He replied as she disappeared from sight. He smiled, allowing some joy to seep into his weary heart. Things weren't perfect but they were certainly starting to look better. He then proceeded down the corridor with a spring in his step and a gleam in his eye that wasn't there just a few short minutes ago. "_It's good to have my blogger back."_

_Post-Story Author's Note: I was having a hard time trying to figure out how to end this one-shot, so I hope it is satisfactory._


End file.
